Applications for absentee ballots may be delivered to the appropriate county auditor or election official by mail, in person, or by fax. For more information, please consult with your voting assistance officer, the Secretary of State's office, or your county auditor's.

According to North Dakota law, absentee ballots are to be made available by the 40th day before the election. Absentee ballots must be returned and postmarked by the day before the election.

To apply for an absentee ballot you must apply for an absent voter's ballot on a form furnished by the proper officer of the county, city, or school district where you generally reside, or on any blank sheet of paper containing the following information:

Your name

Your most current or most recent ND residential address

Your mailing address

Your current home telephone number

The election for which the ballot is being requested

The date of the request

An affirmation that you have resided in the precinct for at least 30 days

ID Needed for Voter Registration

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No registration is necessary.

ID Needed for Voting?

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Acceptable forms of identification must include, name, date of birth and your street address. P.O. Boxes do not establish residency and CANNOT be accepted. If you do not have the below acceptable forms of ID, you may still cast your ballot by signing a declaration or affidavit at the polls.

Acceptable forms of identification are:

Driver's license

Non-driver's ID card

Tribal government issued ID card

Long-term care ID certificate (provided by ND facility)

Attester (only for voters unable to get an ID due to disability)

If you are voting absentee, acceptable forms of ID are:

Any forms of ID listed above

Passport or Military ID - Only for ND residents living outside the US who do not possess one of the other forms of ID

Attester - an applicant without acceptable form of ID may use an attester. The attester must provide his or her name, ND drivers license, non-driver's, or tribal ID number and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant's ND residency and voting eligibility.

If you don't have the acceptable form of ID, you can get one from your local Drivers License Center.

Overseas and Military Voters

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You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Poll Worker Information

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In order to be a poll worker in North Dakota:

You must be registered to vote in North Dakota

You must be at least 18 years of age

Political affiliation required

You will be entitled to compensation

You must be a resident of the precinct for the 30 days prior to the election

You must complete required training

Students 16 or 17 years old who meet all other voter requirements may be appointed if they are students in good standing at a North Dakota high school

Polling Place Locator

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

Provisional Voting

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In North Dakota, there is no need for provisional voting, since there is no voter registration process.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

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If you are a disabled voter you may be accompanied by, and receive assistance from, another person of your choice in the voting booth, unless the person is an employer, officer or agent of your union, a candidate running in that election, or a relative of a candidate. The polling place building should have several routes through it, and sufficient signs should be in place to direct you to the most accessible route to the polling location.

Registration Deadline

Time Off To Vote

The law encourages employers to provide time off to vote when an employee's regular work schedule conflicts with the times polls are open. This policy however is voluntary.

Verify Voter Registration

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There is no voter registration.

Voting Machines

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The voting systems used in North Dakota are optical scan and DRE.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

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